Last night we had the first of our 12 Nights of Chocolate — a series of events we are running to raise money for the SF Marin Food Bank. Each dollar spent on these events goes on to fund 3 meals for the hungry, so it’s a great way to enjoy desserts from amazing guest chefs and help those in need!
Last night we had an amazing 4+ course dessert tasting from Ramon Perez of Puur Chocolat and Matt Sicilliano from Michael Mina, paired with amazing drinks by Rob Easter of Workhorse Rye. We were all blown away by the flavor creations they came up with:
We are also very excited about some more events we have coming up later this week that still have tickets available. This Thursday night, Alice Medrich will be hosting a dessert flight set in a small intimate setting where she will also talk about her new book and her adventures in chocolate. In case you don’t know about Alice, she is considered the “first lady of chocolate”:
Alice Medrich’s honors include two James Beard Foundation Awards for Cookbook of the Year and IACP’s 2011 Best Baking Book award for Chewy Gooey Crispy Crunchy Melt-in-Your-Mouth Cookies. She received her formal training at the prestigious Ecole Lenôtre in France and is widely credited with being the first to introduce Americans to the chocolate truffle and to cake sold by the slice. She shares her latest culinary breakthrough in her new book, Flavor Flours, which Artisan will publish on November 4, 2014. Medrich writes Food52’s Rogue Baking Tips column and teaches online baking courses at Craftsy.com. Follow her on Facebook and Twitter: @AliceMedrich.
This is a great opportunity to hear more from Alice in a small, intimate setting. Alice will also have copies of her new book available to purchase / for her to sign.
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Also not to be missed, our own Lisa Vega, formerly of Gary Danko, is pairing up with her former instructor, Stephen Durfee, and classmate, Sharon Wang, to put on a “Chocolate Wonderland” night with many dessert creations.
Stephen has won numerous awards, including:
Third Place, U.S. Finals, 2010 World Chocolate Masters Competition. Two Second Place Awards and Overall Fifth Place Award, U.S. Pastry Competition, 2009. Team Third Place, National Pastry Team Championship, 2007. One of the “10 Best Pastry Chefs,” Pastry Art & Design and Chocolatier, 1999. Pastry Chef of the Year, James Beard Foundation, 1998
Sharon Wang recently started the acclaimed Sugarbloom Bakery in LA. More about Sharon:
A native Angeleno (by way of Taiwan), chef/owner Sharon Wang grew up in Arcadia and attended UCLA. She started her career in interactive design, co-founding Media Revolution in Santa Monica. In 2003, after 10 years as a senior art director/creative manager, she followed her sweet tooth to the Culinary Institute of America in Napa Valley and while training in pastry there began working for chef Thomas Keller. Sharon quickly rose through the ranks of the Thomas Keller Restaurant Group in Napa Valley and then New York City, baking breads and pastries for The French Laundry, Per Se, Ad Hoc, and Bouchon Bistro and Bakery. She was promoted to head pastry chef of Bouchon in Yountville, and then, returning home to Los Angeles,Bouchon in Beverly Hills. After nine years with chef Keller, Sharon struck out on her own, first consulting for restaurants, including n/naka, and later opening Sugarbloom Bakery in 2012. Sharon’s classic French training and LA upbringing are reflected in Sugarbloom’s viennoiserie, desserts, and custom cakes.
You can find out about all of our events and tickets here: http://dande.li/12nights2014
Hello, my husband and I visiting our son and family in Belvedere who come to you shop to shop….were in your store and loved it. We had stopped in a shop nearby that sells eastern artifacts, monks, candles, all that…and I was wondering if you could tell me the name of the shop. Very many thanks. Arlene Mark in freezing Connecticut and looking forward to visiting you again.